Santiago Álvarez Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography

Santiago Álvarez

Santiago Álvarez

Directing

Biography

Santiago Álvarez Román (March 8, 1919 – May 20, 1998) was a Cuban documentary filmmaker and a central figure in revolutionary Latin American cinema. After studying in the United States, he returned to Cuba in the mid-1940s, where he worked as a music archivist for television and became active in Communist Party circles. Following the Cuban Revolution, he was a founding member of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) and went on to direct its influential weekly Latin American Newsreel, shaping a new model of politically engaged documentary production. Álvarez became internationally known for short films that combined found footage, photographs, animation, and music through rapid, associative editing—often described as “nervous montage.” His best-known works include Now! (1964), addressing racial discrimination in the United States; LBJ (1968), a satirical critique of U.S. imperialism; and 79 Springs (1969), a poetic tribute to Ho Chi Minh. In 1968, he collaborated with Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino on The Hour of the Furnaces, a landmark four-hour documentary on neocolonialism and political struggle in Latin America. Across dozens of films, Álvarez documented music, culture, revolutionary movements, and authoritarian regimes throughout the Americas and beyond. His work influenced generations of political filmmakers, and he was later acknowledged by Jean-Luc Godard in Histoire(s) du cinéma. Álvarez died in Havana in 1998 from Parkinson’s disease and was buried in Colón Cemetery.

Filmography Movies

Acting

Los Ojos de SantiagoMOVIE
MOVIE

Los Ojos de Santiago

Not rated yet
Los Ojos de Santiago
Towards Unity and Victory movie poster
MOVIE

Towards Unity and Victory

7.5(0.0K)
Towards Unity and Victory
Memória Cubana movie poster
MOVIE

Memória Cubana

Not rated yet
Memória Cubana
Self (archive footage)
Coarse Salt movie poster
MOVIE

Coarse Salt

6.7(0.0K)
Coarse Salt
Horacio
Accelerated Under-Development: In the Idiom of Santiago Alvarez movie poster
MOVIE

Accelerated Under-Development: In the Idiom of Santiago Alvarez

5.0(0.0K)
Accelerated Under-Development: In the Idiom of Santiago Alvarez
Himself
El camino de Santiago: Periodismo, cine y revolución movie poster
MOVIE

El camino de Santiago: Periodismo, cine y revolución

7.3(0.0K)
El camino de Santiago: Periodismo, cine y revolución
Santiago Alvarez
Rocha Que Voa movie poster
MOVIE

Rocha Que Voa

6.5(0.0K)
Rocha Que Voa
Self (voice)
El milagro de la tierra morenaMOVIE
MOVIE

El milagro de la tierra morena

Not rated yet
El milagro de la tierra morena
Claves, 4: Memories of Cuban cinema movie poster
MOVIE

Claves, 4: Memories of Cuban cinema

Not rated yet
Claves, 4: Memories of Cuban cinema
Self

Production

The First Delegate movie poster
MOVIE

The First Delegate

7.0(0.0K)
The First Delegate
Director
The First Delegate movie poster
MOVIE

The First Delegate

7.0(0.0K)
The First Delegate
Writer
Hanoi, Tuesday 13th movie poster
MOVIE

Hanoi, Tuesday 13th

6.6(0.0K)
Hanoi, Tuesday 13th
Director
Now! movie poster
MOVIE

Now!

6.3(0.0K)
Now!
Director
79 Springs movie poster
MOVIE

79 Springs

6.1(0.0K)
79 Springs
Director
LBJ movie poster
MOVIE

LBJ

5.9(0.0K)
LBJ
Director
My Brother, Fidel movie poster
MOVIE

My Brother, Fidel

5.9(0.0K)
My Brother, Fidel
Director
The Forgotten War movie poster
MOVIE

The Forgotten War

5.3(0.0K)
The Forgotten War
Director
Muerte al invasor movie poster
MOVIE

Muerte al invasor

5.9(0.0K)
Muerte al invasor
Editor
The Tiger Leaps and Kills, But It Will Die... It Will Die... movie poster
MOVIE

The Tiger Leaps and Kills, But It Will Die... It Will Die...

6.8(0.0K)
The Tiger Leaps and Kills, But It Will Die... It Will Die...
Director

Gallery

Santiago Álvarez portrait
Santiago Álvarez portrait